I collect baseball cards. I know I'm a dork but I have lived with that fact for quite some time.
But I am a dork with goals. I am trying to acquire an autograph of every person to play an inning for my favorite team, the Baltimore Orioles. I will be sharing the trials and tribulations of card collecting, stories from players and my thoughts on the hobby. I will try to be as entertaining as possible and hopefully you can watch me attain my goal.

The Quest

The Baltimore Orioles have been in town since '54 and have had over 900 men don their uniform. My goal is to obtain a signed card of each player. If you have something I need, or see something you want, don't be shy, we can make a deal.

Collection Statistics

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Off The Trading Block

Continuing my trade from Todd last week, I added four other players that never appeared on an Oriole card. The time in town ranges from eight games to three full seasons.

Mike Fetters 1995 Topps #339Fetters had a stable first nine major league seasons, pitching in California and Milwaukee. His 10th season started a nomadic trend, pitching with seven different teams until his career ended in 2004. He was traded and released many times to help many contenders add a durable veteran arm in their bullpen. 1999 saw him pitch entirely in Baltimore. He was not as effective as he had been and was part of the reason the Orioles could not right the sliding ship. He did appear on an Orioles Postcard from 1999, but I have never seen one, so can't actually get one signed.

Jim Miller 2009 International League All-Stars #12Miller made his major league debut for the Orioles on September 1, 2008, four years after being drafted by the Colorado Rockies. His only season here he allowed only one earned run, but took two losses due to errors. His ERA was just north of 1.00 and he recorded his first major league save. Miller has spent the last two seasons looking for another chance at the major league level. He has performed well, recording 17 saves and five wins out of the bullpen during that time. He has only had minor league cards produced, so this one as a member of the Norfolk Tides will do me just fine.

Omir Santos 2006 Bowman Heritage Prospects BHP-74Santos was drafted by the Yankees in 2001 but never emerged on the big club. He was signed by the Orioles in 2007, making his major league debut during 2008. Santos only appeared in 11 games, with 10 plate appearances. He did collect his first major league hit as an Oriole but was released before spring training in 2008. He re-emerged with the Mets in 2009 for 96 games. This year has been spent in the minors and he hadn't replied to my TTM request, via the Buffalo Bison, as of today.

2005 Topps Total #589Jamie was a staple in the Baltimore pen from 2007-2009. He appeared in half of the teams 162 games in 2007, leading the league in that category. As a left handed specialist, he was usually used to gain the match-up advantage, but never chewed up a ton of innings. After 2007 his salary soared above $4million and his ERA soared above 6.00. Even though he was an Oriole for three seasons, there are no Orioles cards of him. In fact, he hasn't appeared on a major card since 2005. I'm not sure if that is because he is not a member of the MLBPA. Either way, he is currently a free agent and this Tigers autograph satisfies my need.